Frosted
by Marzos
Summary: When Elsa stops a mysterious stranger from pelting her sister with a snowball, she learns three things. One: she was the only one who could see him. Two: He made that snowball appear out of thin air. And three: that wouldn't be the last time they saw each other. Rated T for mentions of self-harm in one chapter. Enjoy and please review!
1. Chapter 1

Elsa was twelve when she stopped the stranger from hitting her sister with a snowball.

She had been staring out of her window, practicing her 'conceal don't feel' mantra Papa had taught her. She felt like it helped a little bit; if she sort of concentrated really hard on _not_ concentrating on anything, she could make herself fall into a sort of trance. The snow still came sometimes, but much less.

That day she had been distracted by the sight of her sister. She stared longingly at Anna, who had become creative in finding ways to play by herself; today she had created a giant pile of snow and jumped off a ledge into it, bursting into a fit of giggles before doing it again. Elsa smiled when she thought of the reaction Mama and Papa would have when they saw that she was jumping into muddy snow without changing into her play clothes first; they already had to replace two of her dresses this month…

She shook her head. She had to get back into her trance. But before she turned away from the window to try and go back into that state of nothingness, she noticed a flash of movement out of the corner of the window.

Elsa pressed her nose up to the glass. He didn't look like one of the servants; he looked too young. It was a boy, tall and lanky, holding a wooden staff in one hand and twirling a snowball in the other. He crept up behind her sister slowly, raising the snowball above his head. How did Anna not notice?

She gripped the window. There was no time to get Mama and Papa—no time to do anything. And while a snowball was certainly not going to kill Anna, what kind of boy snuck into the castle to throw snowballs at a nine year old girl? He must have been at the very least mentally disturbed.

Frost crept up the window at an alarming rate as Elsa threw it open. "HEY!" she shouted, "GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER OR I WILL CALL THE GUARDS!" the boy stumbled back. His hood fell off and he looked straight at her, and Elsa tried to suppress the fear that suddenly gripped her.

Anna gasped, looking left and right. "Where is he? Is he gone?" How did Anna not notice? A few times she looked right in his direction.

"Anna, go inside!" Elsa called to her sister.

"Elsa—"

"Anna, GO AWAY." Elsa said more sternly, and her sister listened, bowing her head and trudging inside. Elsa slammed the window shut again, breathing heavily as she hugged herself. That was so impulsive. Why did she do that? She was lucky she had managed to control her powers long enough to not release a barrage of icicles at the stranger. But at the same time…what was she supposed to do? Anna was in trouble—and everything she did was to ensure her sister was safe. Hopefully that boy wouldn't come back—

"Hey, that's a neat trick you got there,"

Elsa screamed. She turned around to see the same stranger, casually leaning on his staff.

"Get out of my bedroom at once! When the castle guards find you, you'll have wished you never bothered us!"

"Hey kid, calm down." The boy held up his hands. "See? I'm friendly. I was just trying to have a little fun with your sister—she seemed kind of lonely. Thought she could use a playmate."

Guilt settled in Elsa's stomach as she was reminded of her sister's loneliness, acting as kindling for her anger. "You shouldn't be here! Why are you here? Please, just go away."

"Well, I was going to leave," he answered, shrugging, "When I realized that the only way you could have warned your sister about me is if you saw me."

"So?"

"Most people don't."

"Then I guess I'm not most people, is that all?"

"Nope. Because I also noticed that most kids don't make a sheet of ice appear under their feet."

Elsa gasped, looking down. Sure enough, a thin film of ice was spreading on the bedroom floor. "Please," she begged, "Don't tell anyone—my parents will pay whatever you want, but no one can know, I swear I'm trying to control it—"

"Whoa, slow down. Your secrets safe with me," the boy made a cross over his heart. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

Elsa looked at him with a newfound respect; to a twelve year old, cross-your-heart was as serious as swearing on the River Styx. She calmed a little knowing that her secret was still safe.

"I mean, I think the ice thing is cool," he continued, "Because check this out." He snapped his fingers. A snow ball appeared in his hand.

Elsa's mouth dropped open as she stared at the little ball of ice. "You can do that too?"

"The names Jack Frost," Jack answered, "And I can. I've never met anyone like me before—"

"Me neither!" Elsa interrupted, clapping her hands a little in excitement. Her natural apprehensiveness was completely gone, replaced with joyful curiosity. "But I always felt like there had to be someone else out there somewhere!"

Jack smiled. "That's probably how you saw me," he said, "You believed that there was another person with ice powers—which I guess was good enough for the Man in the Moon."

Elsa didn't even care about who the 'Man' was; she had so many questions. How long had he had his powers? Was he born with them? Could he control them? Maybe he could even teach her how—

"Elsa!" her father threw open her door. For a moment Elsa was scared, and then realized what Jack had said—that she was the only one who could see him. "Elsa, are you alright? We heard a scream."

"I'm fine Papa," Elsa answered. "I…I…it was a nightmare,"

His gaze softened. "Another one?"

"Yes. I dreamed I…I walked into a museum and one of the exhibits was you and Mama and Anna turned into ice statues, and I was the artist." She made her bottom lip quiver a little for effect.

"Oh Elsa—do you want anything? I can have Gerda make you tea. With extra honey, how you like it."

"It's okay Papa. I think I'd just like to try and sleep again."

"Anna said you shouted something out the window—she said you saw someone in the gardens?"

"I don't see him anymore. I think I was wrong."

He nodded, leaving the room.

She turned back to Jack, ready for her barrage of questions, but suddenly he looked much more somber than before. "What is it?"

"You have nightmares all the time, huh?" he said.

"Well, yeah. I actually had that one this morning—I don't usually tell Papa about them anymore though. I don't want him to worry about me anymore than he does." She tried to say it so flippantly, so matter-of-fact, that Jack would forget about it. It did not work entirely—she could see how he furrowed his brow—but other than muttering that she had some 'creative nightmares' he let it drop.

"So, can you answer some stuff for me?" she asked sweetly. "Really quick, I promise."

"Sure."

The 'really quick' questions turned out to be an interrogation that lasted far into the night. When Elsa's words became slightly slurred from fighting sleep, Jack grabbed his staff.

"I should go," Jack told her, "You seem tired."

"No! Don't go yet. Please stay a few more minutes?"

"Oh, I'll come back," Jack assured the princess, "But people need to sleep, right? You need to sleep."

"I don't want to," Elsa finally answered simply, "If I go to bed I'll have nightmares."

Jack looked at her and sighed, ruffling her hair. "I'll come back," he said again, opening the window.

"Wait!" Elsa said, but he was gone; Jack Frost had disappeared into the night.

She sighed and stared at her bed. He was right; he needed sleep however much she hated it.

While Jack had occasional run-ins with the Guardians, he'd never sought one out until that night. But this time he felt he had to; although he'd only known her for a few hours, he felt very protective of Elsa. People with ice powers had to stick together, right?

"She's in there," he said, pointing at the window that was covered with frost. "She's a nice kid. But she keeps having nightmares."

Sandman flew closer to the window, peering inside. Elsa clutched her blankets tightly, her brow furrowed. She seemed to be whimpering in her sleep.

Turning to Jack, a question mark appeared above his head.

"Why? Well…you know…she seems like a nice kid. I felt bad for her, so I thought I'd find you."

Sandman was obviously not satisfied with the answer; but he was the Guardian of Dreams, and whether or not Jack would explain himself didn't change the fact that there was a child that needed his help. Peering at her curiously for a few moments, Sandy went to work.

"Thanks," Jack answered awkwardly. "Uh…you might want to get to work on the rest of the children, right?"

Sandman nodded. Looking back at Elsa's sleeping form—she had relaxed considerably, and a small smile crossed her face—he smiled at Jack and left.

As soon as he stepped into the room the next morning—he did promise he'd come back—Jack was almost immediately pulled into a crushing hug by the princess.

"UGH!" Jack grunted, using his staff to keep his balance. "Why so happy? You didn't believe me when I said I'd come back?"

"I didn't have a nightmare last night!" Elsa said, burying her face in the front of his shirt. "At first I was, but then suddenly…I felt like I was flying, and then I was riding a horse, and then I was having a snowball fight with Anna and everyone kept asking me to use my magic and I didn't have any trouble controlling it at all! And it must be because I met you, what else could it be? I knew finding someone like me would start to make everything better, and I was right. Thank you!"

Jack didn't know what to say; he just patted the top of Elsa's hair awkwardly, smiling.

"Glad I could help." He finally answered.


	2. Chapter 2

The King of Arendelle always made it a point to see his daughter alone as often as his busy schedule would allow. As worrisome as Elsa's powers were, she was his daughter after all—and he loved her no matter what. He tried his best to not let Elsa feel that he was trying to shove her away into her room and forget about her like an old coat in the back of a closet.

He rapped on the door; they had a special code they had made up. Two knocks a few seconds apart, then three in quick succession. It was Elsa's idea, so that she knew that it wasn't Anna trying to get inside—it was especially useful since the door was quite thick, and shouting who it was would wake up the entire castle.

This time, Elsa didn't answer the door.

He knocked again; did he forget how to do it? But it was such a simple pattern, and he doubted that he forgot it. Starting to become worried, he put an ear to the door.

"Can you do it again?" The King heard Elsa say. She laughed airily.

"Ha ha," She said sarcastically, "But please?"

A person in her bedroom? He couldn't just stand outside. Cautiously he opened the door. His daughter seemed to be in the middle of jumping off of her bed. She stared at him.

"Papa! I didn't hear you come in."

"Elsa, who were you talking to?"

"Who? N-no one," she said, smiling sheepishly. The King scanned the room quickly—she seemed to be lying through her teeth, but the window was not open, bed closet door _was _open, and there seemed to be no mysterious lumps on the floor covered by blankets. He sighed, chalking it up to Elsa having a natural tendency to be on edge.

"I thought we could spend some time together," he said, forcing a smile. He could have pushed her on the issue, but he didn't feel like it would be worth it; time with his daughter was precious and he didn't want it to end in an argument. "I know I haven't been able to see you as much as I'd like to, Elsa. Would you like to play chess? Or I could read you one of your stories…"

"Papa, I'm twelve and a half," Elsa said, "I'm too old to have you read me stories."

He smiled. Rare moments like these, where they didn't even mention Elsa's…condition, were few and far in between. "Chess then?"

"Okay," she answered simply. They spent the next hour playing quietly. Elsa lost in the end, but just barely. He felt a surge of pride for her anyway when he said 'checkmate'; she'd almost beaten him. Elsa may not go out much, but she kept her mind sharp. It made him hopeful that she would be able to find the key to her powers one day.

He hugged her, wishing her a good night, and left. By all accounts it _was_ a good night; her powers seemed to be in check, and she even let him hug her. He should have been happy.

But he felt a strange sense in the back of his mind that something just wasn't right when he heard laughter again from her room when he closed the door.

"That was close!" Elsa said, sitting back down on the bed. "If you had dropped me a second later Papa would have thought I could make myself fly."

Jack laughed. "Yeah," Jack said, "Hopefully he doesn't think you're crazy or something."

Elsa pursed her lips. She crossed one leg over the other, hands folded in her lap. "You know, maybe I am," she mused.

Jack was taken aback for a moment. "What, you actually think you're making me up?"

"Well, if you think about it, that's the most logical answer," Elsa continued, "A person only I can see that just happens to have powers like mine? It's a little too good to be true I guess—like my mind took the mental image I had of who my best friend would be and put it in the real world." Jack stared at her blankly. He learned, upon visiting her for the past few months that for a young kid Elsa could get very contemplative. Sometimes it seemed like her body was ten years too young for her brain.

"Obviously, I don't _seriously _think that," she continued, "Because if I did, I wouldn't be seeing you right now, would I?" she took a breath.

"Sorry," she said after a moment, "I know all this serious talking stuff is probably boring you."

"It's alright."

"It's just that all I can really do is read and talk. And you're the only person I can talk to besides my parents. There's only so much you can use for conversation when you don't get out…what I was trying to say with all of that is, you're my best friend no matter what."

"I'm your only friend," Jack teased, "So I don't really know how much of a compliment that is."

"A huge one," Elsa said seriously, "If you weren't here I don't know what I'd do." She grinned. "So…can we do that thing again?"

Jack smiled. "Sure, one more time and then I'm going to head out."

Elsa pulled herself up into a standing position on the mattress. "Ready Jack?"

Jack hovered a few feet in front of the bed. "Yeah. Go ahead!"

"Yay!" Elsa took a flying leap off the bed; Jack caught her with one hand, and flew across the length of the large bedroom before dropping her in a fit of giggles on the ground at the other end.

"Bye Jack!" Elsa said in between bouts of laughter, "Where are you going?"

"Places," Jack said, getting ready to take off, "Might travel around for a few months before I get back."

He was afraid Elsa would become upset when he mentioned that he would be gone for months; but Jack was a wanderer by nature, and he couldn't stay cooped up in Arendelle forever.

"Can you bring me something back?" she asked, "From wherever you go?" Jack was surprised by how well she took the news; maybe it was because she understood that he needed to get out. He had a feeling from the twinge of jealousy in her voice that if she could, she'd be just as much of a traveler as he was.

"Sure Elsa," he assured, crouched on the windowsill and ready to leap. "I promise."

He pushed off, flying into the air. He flew backwards, waving goodbye to Elsa, and didn't stop until she disappeared on the horizon.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Warning guys, I'd recommend not reading this chapter if you feel really uncomfortable with mentions of self harm; it won't hurt your understanding of the rest of the story if you do. Wanted to try a slightly more serious tone with this chapter._

The months passed, signifying the passing of Elsa's thirteenth birthday, an occasion which she barely acknowledged save for a cake brought in by her parents and a handmade card Anna shoved under her door. What Elsa wasn't prepared for was how her aging would affect her; one day she woke up, and everything inside her burned, every muscle in her body aching.

Puberty caused all children her age to experience acne, or the occasional growing pains, but for Elsa it was also marked by a sudden increase in her powers. Every day she woke up with the feeling of a monster clawing away at her insides, coming out in the form of icicles and blizzards. She flinched at even the slightest touch from her parents. Eventually she refused to let them go near her at all.

She stared out the window every night, hoping for a glimpse of her friend returning to her. Sometimes she'd remember her last conversation with Jack—how she had half-jokingly suggested that he was just a figment of her imagination—and when she started to think that maybe she was right, she'd banish the thought from her head. If she stopped believing in him, and he was real, then she wouldn't see him when he came back. And the thought of seeing the one person that might know something about the pain she was feeling was the only thing keeping her sane.

Eventually, that wasn't even enough anymore. One day her pains were especially bad; with a cry of pain icicles began sprouting from the ground. Tears forming in Elsa's eyes, she fell to her knees and gave a short gasp.

"Ow!" she looked at her hand; it had grazed a jagged icicle, and a trickle of blood fell from her hand. Elsa stared at it for a moment; her breathing became more regular.

It was the strangest thing she had ever experienced. For the first time in months, she felt_ relief_. It had done so many things for her at once; she felt as though cutting her skin relieved the pressure that built inside from her frustration and shame. Perhaps most of all, Elsa felt a perverse satisfaction in punishing herself for being such a failure.

It started off slowly. Every few weeks, when things became too much to bear after a particularly bad episode, Elsa would snap a piece of ice and make a small mark on her arm and close her eyes, focusing on the pain to calm herself down. Soon it became a daily ritual, a compulsion.

Her parents didn't know. By Elsa's request they rarely visited anymore, and only for a short time; and when she took to wearing long sleeved clothing to hide the not yet healed cuts, she told them she was trying to see how keeping herself warmer would affect her powers. Lying to them only added to the shame and guilt—as soon as they'd leave she would have the unbearable urge to do it again.

And it was one night, when she rolled up the sleeve of her shirt with a jagged piece of ice in her hand that Jack decided to return.

She didn't even notice. Elsa's eyes were closed; it had become such a routine for her that she did it almost robotically. Jack had to knock on the window with his staff before Elsa realized someone was there.

"Jack!" Elsa unlocked the window, opening it wide to let him inside. She hugged him. "Where have you been? Did you bring me anything?"

"Uh…yeah," Jack answered, looking confused. "I found something while I was in France…"

"Is something wrong?" Elsa asked, still holding her friend, but now keeping him at arms' length.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Jack answered. He stared at her exposed arm pointedly, eyes lingering on the new cuts that hadn't yet scabbed over.

"What? Oh, you know…ice…it's sharp."

"That's funny; I don't remember you having those before."

"Well, my powers have gotten a lot stronger since then."

Jack raised an eyebrow, smiling. "And I suppose you 'accidentally' cut yourself on just your arms? Because I noticed your pant legs are rolled up and your legs look fine."

Elsa reddened. The accusation was poorly hidden behind Jack's deceptively casual demeanor. She didn't want anyone, especially him, to know."Jack—"

"Come on Elsa, don't lie to me." Jack walked up to her. He put one hand on her arm gingerly. "Who's hurting you?" he asked gently.

She backed up, until her back was pressed against the door. "Don't you dare accuse my parents of anything!" she growled.

"I never said your parents!"

"You _implied_ it! Who else could you think it was?"

"Elsa—"

"It was me, okay? I do it to myself." She hugged herself. Her back slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor hugging her knees. "It calms me down when I lose control of my powers. It makes me feel better."

"Elsa, are you _insane_?" Jack tried to go through his brain for all of the knowledge he had acquired from his years on the earth. "What if you cut yourself too deeply? There's like…a major artery there or something. You could have died!"

"Maybe I don't care," Elsa muttered.

"You're being stupid, Elsa." Jack answered simply. When Elsa looked up, eyes filled with tears, he mentally slapped himself. He was not the guy you called on to be sensitive in situations like this.

"Why not?" Elsa answered, sounding remarkably calm. "If I die, who's affected? My parents, who will no longer have to worry about having my secret discovered and their lives' ruined? My sister? Anna will be upset, but she barely knows me. And with me gone she'll be able to go outside. Arendelle? From what I've heard, Anna would make a very compassionate ruler; she'd just need some training. Every single person that knows me would benefit if I was gone."

Jack stared at her in shock, kneeling in front of her. "You forgot something."

"What?" Elsa said, pouting.

"Elsa, _I_ would miss you." Jack answered.

Elsa stayed silent, head buried in her knees. She seemed unable to look at him.

"I don't think you understand," Jack said. "You're weird Elsa. You're thirteen and you talk like a thirty year old, you like to get into discussions on weird philosophical stuff I don't care about so I have no idea what you're saying, and sometimes I wonder why I deal with you at all."

Elsa made a noise to show she was listening, and not approving.

"You want to know what being alone feels like? I'll tell you. It's going outside, meeting huge crowds of people—and they don't see you even if you jumped in front of them and screamed in their face. That was my life before I met you. If something happens to you, how is my life better? Well?"

For a long moment Elsa didn't answer. She finally looked up after what seemed like ages.

"…What did you bring back for me?" she whispered.

Jack's gaze softened. He looked like he regretted what he had said. "Here," he had been wearing a belt; tied to it was a small satchel. He handed it to her. "Open it."

Elsa weighed it in her hands—it felt heavy for its size. She reached inside, wrinkling her nose in confusion at what she held in her hand.

"What is it?" Elsa asked, staring at the round object.

"I found it in France," Jack explained, "They're a new thing over there. I heard the shop owner call it a 'snow globe'."

Elsa examined it closer; it looked like a small house was inside. Little specks of white were settled on the bottom. The princess shook it experimentally and stared at it in wonder.

"It looks like it's snowing!" Elsa exclaimed. "Thank you Jack! It's beautiful." She giggled a little. "And kind of fitting."

"I know, thought it'd be perfect." Jack shifted in place awkwardly. "Sooo…listen Elsa, it's late, but if you want me to stay—"

"Jack, it's alright." She interrupted. "I'll be fine. Really."

"You sure?"

"Sure. If you go back to France, can I have another one of these?" she shook it again. It occurred to her that, even if she couldn't control the snow within herself, she could control the snow in the tiny world of the snow globe. The thought made her appreciate the gift more.

"I might stick around for a few days before I head off again, but I will."

The cuts had become such a habit that it took time before she finally stopped entirely, but Elsa slowly recovered from what she would recall as 'one of the darkest periods of her life'.

Whenever Elsa felt the pain and guilt swell up inside her, and it was too much to bear, she would instead reach for Jack's snow globe. She would shake it, squeezing it as tightly as she could without shattering the glass, watching the snow fall gently to the bottom for what would seem like hours until she calmed down.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: So, I'm going to attempt something new: much longer chapters. Slower updates, yes, but more content. Let me know if you like this better than my short 1000 word ones. Keep reviewing, I live on reviews!_

The best times he spent with Elsa were the hours right after he came back from one of his trips. It always went the same way; he would return, tapping on the window lightly, and be pulled into a crushing hug by the princess before being ushered inside. A chair was offered, which Jack would decline in favor of hovering a foot or two off the ground. Elsa would sit on her bed, carefully crossing her legs and leaning her chin on her hand.

"Tell me where you've been," Would be the first thing she'd say. And Jack would explain to her in as much detail as he could. Speaking about France, Africa, Italy, and places that he didn't even know the name of, Jack tried to weave together for Elsa the fabric of the entire world.

Sometimes she would have a book resting on her knees, checking to see how much of what Jack said was actually true. Her eyes would light up as her fingers ran lightly across the small print, nodding after his every sentence.

"What else?" she would ask over and over again, "Please, tell me something else."

"I don't know Elsa. That's all the interesting stuff."

"I don't care," Elsa answered, "Just tell me everything, even if you think it's boring. I don't."

The reason Jack enjoyed it so much was because of how happy it made her. She would lean in, practically drinking in his words like he were an oasis she had found after wandering in the desert. From the way she described her life during his absences, in a way it kind of was.

"You know what today is, right?" Elsa asked him one day, during a pause in his story about his recent trip to the rainforest.

"No, what?" he asked her.

"It's been three years," she said, "You know, since we met."

"You remember the exact day?"

"Of course I do." She bit her lower lip. "Actually, I got you something." She reached under the bed, pulling out a small box.

"Elsa, seriously? I didn't get you anything."

"Your stories are enough of a gift." She answered, smiling. "Now open it."

Jack took the top of the box off, peering inside. "…What are they?"

Elsa blushed in embarrassment. "They're shoes," she answered, looking down at the hands folded in her lap. "Remember that story you told me, about Indians? How they made their own shoes—what did you call them…?"

"Mocassins?"

"Right. And I noticed you were always barefoot. So I took some scraps of leather, and I tried to sew them together—mother gave me a book so I could learn how to sew. And I took some of the fluff out of my pillow case and sewed that inside of them so they would be warm."

Jack took them out of the box, placing them on the floor. It had never occurred to him that he was missing shoes. He never felt cold, and he could fly over ground that was hard to walk on, so they were kind of irrelevant.

"Thanks Elsa," Jack said, trying them on. He had to admit they were surprisingly comfortable. "Why this year and not every other year?"

"I don't know, I just thought of it when you told me that story. I had been thinking of trying to get you something, but I couldn't decide what to give you that you could carry around with you easily, and my parents wouldn't be suspicious of why I was asking for it since I very well can't go out and buy it myself. I'm sorry; I know it isn't very well made…"

"I think they're great," Jack assured her. He joked, "Hey, maybe one day you can come with me and you can ask them how they make theirs."

Elsa pursed her lips. "Come with you?" Elsa laughed, shaking her head. "That is wishful thinking Jack, but unfortunately I don't think travel would suit me."

"Are you kidding? You'd love it." Jack answered. "You love hearing about them so much."

"That's different than going there," Elsa answered, "Besides, what if I hurt someone? I still can't control my powers…"

"Maybe the problem is you being cooped up in this prison cell you call a room." He answered. Elsa stayed silent.

"I couldn't do it," Elsa said again. "Mama and Papa would be hysterical." But the rest of the night, Elsa was distant, half listening to Jack while seeming to work over some sort of complex problem in her head.

* * *

They never talked about leaving the castle again for years, not even in jest. Elsa was obviously convinced that leaving was an impossibility, and Jack didn't want to make her feel any worse about having to be stuck there. So he continued to go to her room and entertain her with his stories.

Jack was sometimes surprised about how quiet Elsa had become. When he had met her at just twelve years old, she certainly wasn't an awkward babbler (from what he heard her sister was more like that) but she could talk his ear off if he got her on a particular topic she had read about. Now Elsa was much more reserved and quiet, speaking softly with eyes half lidded. Whether this was a result of her maturing, or feeling beaten down by her solitary lifestyle, Jack wasn't sure.

Now they sat in silence, sitting across from each other. Elsa had, finally, convinced Jack to try tea.

"But I don't need to drink," Jack had told her, "I'm a spirit, remember?"

"Do you think people only drink when they feel thirsty?" Elsa had answered. And Jack gave in.

"This is surprisingly good," Jack told her, taking a cautious sip of the liquid and smiling at the taste.

"I'm glad you like it," Elsa answered, "Mama had it imported all the way from England."

They stayed in silence again. Elsa seemed to be on the verge of saying something else, and then thought better of it.

"You want to say something Elsa?" Jack asked.

"What? Oh, no…actually, you know what," Elsa finally said, shaking her head. "I might as well get this over with." She took a deep breath.

"Jack, I want to run away with you."

He almost spit out his tea; instead it went down the wrong pipe and he started to choke.

"Jack! Are you alright?" Elsa asked, getting up and patting the boy on the back until his coughing fit subsided.

"Yeah…fine…it's just…_why_?" he finally asked.

"I want to leave Arendelle."

"What about everything you said the last time—your parents being hysterical and everything?"

"Something has happened." She answered. She saw from the look Jack gave that the response wasn't sufficient.

"Jack, I think my parents are trying to marry me off." She finished. She hugged herself as Jack stood up.

"I…I heard them arguing outside my door. They thought I was asleep. Things like 'shouldn't we tell her?' and 'no, Elsa would never understand.' And something about having to go to a place called The Southern Isles to 'finalize everything before she needs to know.' They had told me that they're planning on going on a trip there in a few months." She kept going, sounding more panicked as she went on. "I asked one of the servants to get me a book about the Southern Isles from the library. They have thirteen children, all men. The youngest is Anna's age, and the second youngest is the same age as I am." She began pacing the room anxiously. "Why else would they not want to tell me anything? They know I'd never agree to it!"

"I don't know Elsa, it doesn't make sense." Jack reasoned, trying to calm the irate princess down. "They know you can't control your powers yet. Why would they let you get married?"

"I thought about that. Maybe they're afraid I won't be able to rule Arendelle on my own. Maybe they're desperate to find someone who could do it if I'm not able to—Anna isn't exactly a natural princess from what I've been able to follow," there was a note of bitterness to her voice. "Or perhaps their hand was forced. Arendelle has been having trouble lately—I need to keep up with current events as part of my training, you know. There have been some food shortages, droughts, and the Southern Isles is known for having rich farmland. They could have offered a marriage with me for exclusive rights to import food so the people wouldn't starve." She stamped her foot; icicles sprouted from the ground.

"Elsa, calm down—"

"I can't do it Jack!" Elsa cried. She buried her face in her hands. "They'll expect me to produce an heir if I get married. What if my child has the same curse I do? I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."

"So you really want to leave?"

"I have to. I can't get married, I just _can't_. I will not let my curse afflict another innocent child; it will die with me, even if I have to go across the earth."

Jack stared at her; he thought about how Elsa might be as a traveling companion. True, he enjoyed having someone to talk to, but he spent months apart from her at a time. Elsa was poised, regal, and honestly kind of dry sometimes—the complete opposite of him. Could he really handle her twenty-four hours a day?

"I don't know Elsa—have you thought this through?"

"Since when do you care about thinking things through? My parents aren't leaving for a few months anyway; we can wait until they go. It will be difficult for them to be contacted while on board the ship, so we'll have at least a week's head start before they can order any search parties." She surprised Jack by grabbing his hand with both of hers.

"Please," she whispered, "I can't take it anymore. I _need_ to go. Besides, maybe the answers to controlling my parents are somewhere else. I could come back then."

Jack looked at her; she seemed terrified. Jack realized it must have taken all of her courage to ask him for this.

"…If you really want, Elsa," Jack finally said, "It's about time you ditched this place."

Elsa smiled; years of worry suddenly seemed to disappear off her shoulders at once.

She had done it; it was happening. In just a few short weeks, she would be free.

* * *

For the next few weeks, Elsa insisted Jack come to the window every night to discuss their plans. She poured over the maps she requested from the library, and read her fiction novels about exotic locales with a new fervor; soon she wouldn't just be reading them, she'd be living them.

With a quill in hand she scribbled on the backs of the maps, circling countries and cities—Paris, Venice, South Africa, Australia—with numbers next to them in the order of which she wanted to visit first. If she was going to leave, she wasn't just running away blindly; she'd be as prepared as she could. In parchment she worked long into the night trying to decide what items to bring with her, slowly, because every so often the ink froze from her natural coldness and she had to walk away until it warmed again.

Eventually she decided on the list;

Maps

_3 Books (encyclopedia, History of the World, one fiction novel)_

_Small satchel of money_

_Jack's snow globe_

_Change of clothes_

"Elsa!" her head went toward the door. It was Anna, again.

"Elsa, it's your birthday, come on! Let me see you!"

Birthday? She had forgotten. She was eighteen now.

"Anna, go away," Elsa answered, "I keep telling you every year I don't want to come out." Even as she was saying it she felt awful; she could imagine her sister's bright, hopeful smile melting off her face.

"…Alright. But I made you your card—one minute though." A minute passed in silence. "I'm going to slip it under the door, alright?"

"Okay. Thank you very much Anna."

Two pieces of paper were pushed underneath. Elsa listened for the sound of Anna's footsteps signifying her leaving, and then walked over to pick them up. Anna made Elsa a card every year; as a child they would be crudely drawn stick figures, the handwriting barely legible, but it was clear Anna spent hours working on it now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELSA was written on the front in large blocky print, with a picture of them standing together, grinning. She opened it and read what was written inside;

_You may never talk to me_

_Or open up your door_

_But you are still my sister_

_So every year I love you more. _

Elsa sighed. She supposed Anna always hoped Elsa would be so moved by the card that she'd come out to thank her—it never happened, obviously, but she appreciated Anna's stubbornness in trying.

She looked at the other piece of paper. This one looked much more hastily scribbled—probably in the minute before she gave her the cards. It was Anna standing alone, next to her bedroom door, holding the doorknob like it was a hand.

"ME AND MY SISTER" it said in large letters at the top. Obviously Anna wasn't happy with her—but even though this was Anna being angry at her, and Elsa felt a twinge of guilt, she also couldn't help but laugh.

Picking up her quill again, Elsa smiled wistfully and added one last item to the list:

_Cards from Anna_

* * *

"We can't go tonight," Elsa told Jack.

Jack groaned. "What, they left didn't they?"

"Of course," Elsa answered. "I said goodbye to them this morning. But it looks like it's going to rain." Sure enough, as soon as she said it, Jack could hear the sound of rain softly hitting the window.

"If you're so desperate to leave, is a little rain going to stop you?"

"Mama and Papa won't be back for two weeks," Elsa answered adamantly, "We can wait until the rain stops and still have plenty of time to get away before they come back."

Jack admitted that made sense. The next night, however, it was still raining. He found Elsa hunched over the desk in her corner, scribbling something on parchment.

"What are you writing?"

"A goodbye note," Elsa answered. "I forgot about that. They will try and find me no matter what, but I'd like them to know I'm not dead." She showed him the paper.

_Dear Mama and Papa,_

_ I cannot live like this anymore—I am a burden on you and a danger. I am leaving, hoping to find the answers to my powers somewhere else. If I do, I will return one day. If not, please know that I am happy and do not wish for you to look for me. I know you did the best you could and I love you. _

_Love,_

_ Elsa_

Jack could see the myriad of crumpled papers lying around the floor, the ink marks staining Elsa's hands, and the careful, neat handwriting. She had obviously been working on that short note for a long time.

"Not mentioning why you decided to leave now?"

Elsa shook her head. "Honestly, Jack, even if I was wrong about them trying to arrange a marriage, I would still leave at this point…but it's still raining."

"I noticed. Pretty badly."

"Mama and Papa will be fine," Elsa said—Jack hadn't asked. It seemed she was saying it more for her benefit. "They most likely were out of the area this storm is hitting by the time it started raining."

"Should I come back tomorrow then?"

"If it stops raining. If not, don't bother—I don't need your help with anything else."

Jack listened to her, and to his surprise it continued to rain a full four days before the skies cleared. He spent it in excitement, coming around to the idea of traveling with Elsa. She might be a little uptight now, but he could imagine her lightening up if she got out.

"Hey Elsa," Jack said, grinning, jumping into her room. "Are you ready—"

He stopped. Something was wrong—Elsa was crying, back against the door. Snow was falling on the floor of the room liberally, and Jack shook his head, spraying powdery snow around the room.

"Elsa, what's wrong?"

Elsa looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy. "Mama and Papa were caught in the storm."

Jack didn't know what to say. From the way Elsa looked, it was obvious what that meant.

There was a knock on the door. Elsa's sister was trying to get her to leave again; Elsa didn't even have the energy to tell her to go.

"Anna…" Elsa whispered, so her sister could not hear her speaking. "Jack, she's alone now."

He walked closer, looking down at her.

"I can't," Elsa said, almost shaking. "I'm all she has left. I can't abandon her."

"I understand."

Elsa got up. She walked over to the writing desk, on which she had her small bag of travel items—her maps, books, and the letter she was leaving for her family. Taking the map in her hands, she ripped it apart into tiny pieces.

"No more," she grunted, satisfying herself with ripping the map into tiny pieces and throwing them into the air like confetti. She grabbed the letter too. This froze in her hand and she smashed it against the ground, digging the heel of her shoe into it. "_Dreaming_. Stop telling me those stories, that's why this whole idea got into my head; it was ridiculous, you know that? I'm going to be the greatest ruler Arendelle has ever seen, and my powers won't stop me and…I…oh Jack, what am I going to do?" she began almost hyperventilating, reaching for the snow globe she kept on her desk. She shook it, breathing deeply and focusing on the snow falling inside the glass.

Jack didn't know what to say. At one point he finally decided to just hug her, but she didn't acknowledge it; she only kept staring at the snow globe, rigid as a statue, her only sign of life being the whimpers that escaped her mouth and the tears falling down her cheeks.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack kept up his visits with Elsa, but he soon found to be boring. The princess, now thrown full speed ahead into training to take the place of her parents, was forced to leave her room frequently now. It should have made Elsa happier, but she acted more isolated than she had ever been. It was much more work to avoid her sister now that they could run into each other in the hallways of the castle, and it seemed to affect her much more when she had to tell her 'no, I don't want to spend time with you' right to her face instead of behind the door.

She refused to hear anymore about any of the places Jack had traveled. He tried to entice her, bringing her back more snow globes, but Elsa rebuked them.

"My place is here," he told him, "And I do _not_ want you putting thoughts of running away into my head again."

"Whatever," Jack grumbled, but he let it drop.

She got new gloves, thick blue rubber ones, and took to wearing them all the time when she realized they actually kept her powers in check somewhat. Jack took to thinking of her before her parents died as before-gloves-Elsa; one that was quiet and somber but had a secret passion for adventure that kept the two of them friends. This Elsa was Gloved-Elsa; rigidly formal, restricting their visits now to brief polite chit chat before making excuses and leaving the room for another meeting, or another lesson.

Jack started to sympathize with the younger sister. He continued coming, mostly out of a desire to be seen by a human being, but it started to become more of a habit than anything else. The time seemed to blur together, and Jack didn't even realize how much time had passed until he knocked on the window one night after many months away.

"Oh God Jack, you are exactly who I wanted to see." Elsa said, opening it for him.

"Really?"

"Yes. My coronation is tomorrow."

"Seriously? I thought you were already Queen. Since…you know."

"I'm twenty-one. In Arendelle that is the age when I am able to fully accept the burden of ruling the kingdom. Before now, technically my advisors have had final say on any decisions I've made." She rubbed her shoulders. "I am so _nervous_." She groaned.

"Hey, it'll be fine. You've been working on this for years, right?"

"That's not the problem! For my coronation I'll have to invite people, trading partners, friends of my parents. The gates will be open for a day. What if something happens and they all find out about…" she looked at her gloves. "I have to take them off during the ceremony, you know."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Jack assured her. "Tell me how it goes, alright?"

"Wait!" Elsa grabbed Jack's arm. "Come with me?"

"What?"

"Be there for my coronation?" Elsa asked again. "I'd feel better with you there."

"You're not going to be able to talk to me—people will think you've gone nuts."

"Maybe I won't be able to talk to you," Elsa answered, "But I want you to be there. You're…well…you're my _friend_."

She looked at him with pleading eyes. How could he say no?

"…This better be an awesome party." He grumbled.

* * *

"Remind me again why I need to change into a tuxedo when _no one_ will know I'm there?"

"Because this morning is my coronation and since you're my friend you want to dress right for the occasion."

Jack fiddled with his tie. "This is awful! I can barely breathe in this thing. Are all fancy clothes this uncomfortable?"

"Yes," Elsa answered, "You think I like wearing this cape? If I don't pay attention I'll trip over…which I've done at least three times before I learned that."

Jack laughed. "So what, misery loves company?"

"Exactly," Elsa answered, walking up to him and tightening the tie. Jack felt like it was a noose around his neck. "I just want everything to be perfect Jack. Besides, I think you look rather dashing in a suit." She gave a sharp nod, stepping back to admire her handiwork. Jack was wearing a tuxedo with a bow tie, and his hair had even been combed down neatly.

Elsa turned, looking at the picture of her father.

"Hey," Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, you'll be fine."

Silence.

"I mean, you'll only need your gloves off for two seconds, right? It'll be no problem. You got this."

Elsa looked down at her hands. "Thank you Jack. I feel like it will be easier with you there." She looked down at her hands. "Conceal, don't feel," she whispered to herself.

Jack always found her mantra slightly disturbing. Did her parents want her to be a statue or something?

Gathering up her strength, she walked to the glass doors. Looking at Jack again, she smiled.

"Wish me luck," she said. Jack gave her a thumbs up. Taking a breath, Elsa threw the doors open, stepping onto the balcony.

"_Tell the guards to open up the gates!_"

* * *

Things went off without a hitch. The ceremony was performed; Jack held his breath when Elsa was forced to take off the gloves. When she managed to get them back on without anyone seeing, Jack flew right behind her and gave her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder. Elsa of course couldn't acknowledge him, but her nervous fake smile became genuine.

"Well that wasn't too bad," Jack said later as they stood in the ballroom. "So you're Queen Elsa now, huh?"

Elsa gave a small nod.

"So, are you Your Majesty now?" Jack teased, standing in front of her.

Elsa's lips pursed for a moment. Then she leaned in close to his face.

"I prefer 'Your Highness'," Elsa whispered, leaning back smugly, calming deflecting offers by suitors to dance while Jack stared in surprise at the fact that _Elsa_ actually made a joke.

"I saw you talking to your sister, by the way," Jack said, "Never really paid much attention to her before. She's cute."

Elsa's eyebrows shot up.

"NO, not like that, I meant that's not how I imagined her to act considering she's…related to you."

The look Elsa gave Jack seemed to suggest that he should see what else was going on at the party. He floated over to the food and surreptitiously took some chocolate, being careful that no one saw, lest they think a bon-bon was floating in mid air.

He looked to his right. It seemed like Anna was still being forced to dance with that old man of—Weasel Town was it?—maybe he should mess with him again. When he had been talking to Elsa and Anna before, he had casually flipped his toupee off his head when he bowed to them. The Duke never noticed, and he had a feeling later Elsa would tell him that made her night. Casually floating by him, he threw his staff in the way so he'd trip while dancing; this time he noticed when his toupee fell off.

Elsa saw what had happened from across the room. Her eyes were angry, but Jack could tell she was covering her mouth so he wouldn't see that she laughed.

He was having a surprisingly good time, considering the fact that he could only really interact with one party guest. The hours seemed to fly by.

"Jack?" Elsa asked in a whisper, sidling up to him, "Have you seen Anna?"

"What? No."

"I haven't either." Her face fell. "She's upset with me, but I didn't think she'd avoid the party entirely. She's been looking forward to this for so long; I didn't want her to leave early…"

They were interrupted by Anna bursting through the doors with an auburn haired man, the ensuing conversation being something that Jack couldn't believe.

"Are they nuts?" Jack said to Elsa when Anna and Hans announced their 'engagement'. "They can't be serious."

Elsa agreed silently and told them, in no uncertain terms, that no one was getting married. Jack nodded behind her. He was already getting bad vibes from the guy—he seemed nice enough at first glance, but who asked a girl to marry her the same night they meet?

"The party is over, close the gates." Elsa said, attempting to walk out. Jack followed her. What else was he going to do?

"Elsa, please wait!" she took off Elsa's glove in the process of trying to stop her. Alarm bells started going off in Jack's head; this was not going to end well. But how was he going to get Anna to give Elsa back the glove?

"Anna, give me back my glove!" Elsa shouted, trying to grab them.

"Elsa, please, I can't live like this anymore!" Anna begged.

"Then leave," Elsa whispered. She looked at Jack.

"Let's go Elsa," Jack said gently, leading her out, "Just stay calm, we can go find you some new gloves later or something—"

But Anna wouldn't quit. "Enough Anna," Elsa said, hugging herself tightly as Anna continued to speak.

"Why do you shut me out?" Anna asked. Elsa's breathing was starting to get heavy. Jack knew Elsa long enough to know what that meant.

"Elsa, calm down," Jack said soothingly, "Look at me. Just keep walking, come on—"

"Why do you shut the _world_ out?"

Elsa gripped herself so tightly she could have been giving herself bruises.

"Elsa—"Jack said more urgently.

_"What are you so afraid of?"_

"Elsa!" Jack shouted desperately, but it was too late. With a cry of 'enough' Elsa turned around, a shield of icy spikes blocking her from her sister.

"…Well that's not good," Jack muttered, hearing murmurs of 'sorcery' and 'witchcraft' floating around the room. Elsa stood in shock for a few moments before what she had done truly registered, running out the door as fast as she could.

"I can't believe I did that!" Elsa cried, Jack doing her best to keep up with her.

"Where are we going?" Jack asked. But Elsa didn't answer; she was running too quickly, tripping over her cape, lungs almost bursting. A blizzard erupted around her as she ran; as if thirteen years of emotions had been held behind a wall and now that wall was smashed, letting it all escape as snow.

She stopped when she came across water. Behind her were the people giving chase and she looked back at them in fear.

"Come on!" Jack encouraged, holding out a hand, "I'll pick you up and fly you away!"

Elsa shook her head. She dipped one foot experimentally in the water; it froze. She leaned her weight on it. It held her weight. She stared in shock at her own abilities; for the first time she had actually willed her powers to do something specific and it _worked_.

"What are you waiting for? RUN!"

And Elsa did just that.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack had no idea how long he and Elsa were running; it could have been minutes, or hours. It wasn't until they were high in the mountains, Arendelle just a speck on the horizon, that Jack allowed himself to say something.

"So…that happened." Jack finally said.

Elsa shook her head. "I can't believe it. All that work…so many years trying to control my powers…but can you blame me? I couldn't just let her marry a stranger!"

"Yeah, I was getting a bad feeling about it too," Jack agreed.

Elsa looked ahead; nothing but snow as far as she could see. "I suppose this is my kingdom now." Elsa said softly, "It's fitting, I suppose."

"It's just…just…" Elsa hugged herself when she felt she was losing control, whispering. "Conceal…don't feel…don't let them know…"

"Why are you doing that?" Jack asked. Elsa looked up.

"What?"

"I mean, why do that anymore?" Jack asked. "Listen, not to be a pessimist, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows now. And it's not like you're going to hit anyone by accident on the top of a mountain."

Elsa stared into space for a moment; then slowly, a grin spread across her face.

"Jack," she said, grinning almost maniacally, "They know," she took her glove off her hand, throwing it into the air. "They _know_!"

"Exactly," Jack said, smiling. Elsa didn't seem to hear him. She began using her magic, snow erupting from her fingertips. She created a snowman, just because she could. Jack could've been seeing things, but he thought he saw the thing wave at them as they walked away.

"Let it go!" Elsa shouted, throwing her magic, watching it swirl in the air. "I can do whatever I want now!" she laughed again, every few steps spinning in place. "I don't care what anyone thinks anymore…" she said, in awe at what she was saying.

"So what, we're staying here?" Jack asked with a smile.

"Why not? The cold never bothered me anyway…" she took her cape off, throwing it to the wind. "And I hated that cape too!"

It was like Jack was meeting her for the first time. She was so happy to finally be rid of the prison she had called a home that as they walked, all she could do was ramble.

"Look how small everything is from here," Elsa said, throwing her arms wide as she walked backwards. "It makes me feel like all my problems down there were so much smaller than I thought they were…and now all my fears have an entire mountain to cross before they can reach me!"

"Hey Elsa…" Jack said, grinning, "How about I race you?"

"Why not!" Elsa said, turning around and running after him. They came across a large chasm.

"Here, I'll fly you over," Jack said, reaching out a hand. Elsa shook her head.

"No! Let me try something..." she wanted to see what she could do—to finally harness her ice magic and let it do its job. She threw out her arms, magic flowing up the chasm and creating snow in the shape of a grand staircase.

"Wow…" Jack breathed, "It doesn't look very sturdy though…I mean, and it's just snow, right?"

Elsa looked at him; hand over her mouth pretending to look shocked. "Just snow? Oh no, Jack Frost. This isn't _just_ snow." She smiled, taking a step on the staircase. Immediately where her foot was, the staircase began forming into ice. She looked hesitant for a moment, her gigantic smile growing even wider; she wasn't sure exactly what she could do. The more she discovered the more she felt like losing control was the best thing she ever did.

"Elsa, that was amazing," Jack said, flying alongside her.

"Could you do that?" she asked, elated as she ran up as fast as she could.

"Got to admit, I can't," Jack shouted, over the wind roaring in his ears. His powers were a lot less refined as hers. A thought occurred to him. "Hey Elsa…don't we have a bit of a problem?"

"What?" Elsa asked, jumping off the staircase. She did a small spin in place, giggling. "What could possibly be wrong?"

"Where are you going to…you know…live up here?" he asked.

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You still don't trust me after the staircase, do you Jack?" She asked, smiling. "Watch this."

The truth was, despite all of her bravado, Elsa had no idea if it would work. But as she lifted her dress, slamming her foot into the ground, she suddenly knew that it would; she barely needed to consciously think of what she wanted to do. The ice just seemed to know intuitively that she wanted a home. And not just any home; one befitting the queen of ice and snow. She bit her lower lip as she raised her arms like a conductor, willing the ice beneath her to rise into walls.

Jack didn't even know what to say. "Seriously, Elsa…how…what? How does that even _work_?"

"I don't know!" Elsa said, as she spun, waving her arms, creating the perfect home. "It's like…it's not just snow. It's like my soul is being sent out with it and telling it what I want it to do." With that, she threw her arms up, creating beautiful arches, a roof, and a chandelier.

"Elsa, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" he said, standing next to her and looking around. "I could get used to coming to see you in this."

"I know." She looked at him. "I guess we did end up running away together, didn't we?" she took her crown off her head. "And I'm never going back!" with a look of anger she threw it across the room as hard as she could.

"That's the spirit!" Jack encouraged, "I knew you had it in you Elsa—"he stopped, mouth hanging open. The throwing away of her crown seemed to have inspired Elsa to give herself an entire makeover. She threw out her braid, frosting her bangs in place so they'd stay out of her eyes. Ice began forming on her coronation dress, until it was slightly more…well, not like the way the old Elsa would dress.

"This is the best day of my life," Elsa breathed, walking out and standing on the balcony of her new castle. "Look out at this. It's all _mine_."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "So, how does it feel to be the queen of…I don't know, just snow I guess."

She looked at him. "Wonderful. These are subjects I can command." She turned to face him.

"So, Jack Frost," Elsa asked, "What will you be doing? There's room for you in my court if you'd like to stay here."

"Stay? Well, you know me Elsa…I can't stay in one place too long." He looked around for a moment. "But I have a feeling I can stay here for awhile."

"Excellent!" she threw her arms around him. Jack returned the hug.

"By the way," she whispered, "Since I did, you might as well change clothes. Now that we're not at a party you look kind of ridiculous."

"What do we do then?"

Elsa rubbed her hands together. "Why, we see what else I can do with my powers, of course! I mean, we still haven't made all the furniture for the castle…and I have thirteen years of not using my magic to catch up on. You're looking at the new Elsa, Jack!"

Jack grinned. He could get used to the new Elsa.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day was, without a doubt, one of the greatest of Elsa's life. Even she couldn't recognize herself; even as she spoke she was amazed by how much had changed in just one short day.

She became incredibly emotional. For once in her life, Elsa was not afraid of what would happen if she felt, so she did it unabashedly. If she laughed, she threw her head back until tears filled her eyes. If she hugged Jack, she squeezed him so hard he joked that she'd break him in two. Rather than become scared when her magic responded to her emotions, she pointed out when it happened with joy.

"Look at that Jack," Elsa said, "When I laughed just now that snow pattern appeared on the floor; isn't that lovely?"

"That is cool," Jack agreed. For once Jack was the quiet one of the two, but Elsa could tell that it was a happy, stunned silence.

They had a snowball fight, something Jack had always encouraged her to do but she dismissed. It ended when she created a snowball twenty feet high and dumped right over the spirit's head.

"No fair!"

"It's my kingdom, and I say it's fair." Elsa answered. She laughed again; it sounded like the twinkling of piano keys. Elsa did not want to sound full of herself, but she loved the sound of laughter, especially her own. "Now come on, I insist I make you a bed if you're staying here."

But she did not simply make a bed. It was a grand affair, a king sized bed with a canopy. She loved the look on Jack's face when she used her powers in such intricate ways.

"I am so jealous of you right now Elsa," he said. He jumped on it. "I mean, the mattress is comfortable. How do you make an ice mattress comfortable?"

"By being the Snow Queen," Elsa answered simply. "My guests get only the best accommodations. Especially members of my court."

"Really?" he put his hands behind his head. "And what exactly is my title?"

"Royal fool?"

"Ha, ha Elsa."

"Well, then tell me. What is your purpose?"

Jack stayed silent for a moment.

"…I don't know." Jack finally answered. The air hung heavy between them for a moment. It was clear there was more to it than that.

"Well," she finally said, "As queen, I command you to join me on the balcony." She took his hand. "It's the evening of my first day here, and I want to see the sunset."

"Jack, I've been thinking." Elsa said.

Jack looked at her. For the past few minutes they had been standing on the balcony in companionable silence. Jack was suddenly aware of the fact that she had never let go of his hand.

"About what?"

"Your purpose. It occurred to me before that you seemed confused as to if you have one."

Jack shrugged. "I just woke up in a lake one day," he admitted, "I have no idea why."

"I think I do." She smiled. "Mama and Papa always taught me that everything happened for a reason. You were alone, and I was alone. Maybe this," she made a sweeping gesture with her hand. "Is your purpose. To find me so we both wouldn't be alone."

"Huh," Jack answered. He didn't know what to say.

"And furthermore," Elsa continued, "I have an offer. Stay."

"Stay?"

"Yes. I mean, of course I want you to still travel—I'd never make you give that up—but make this a more permanent home. The Snow Queen should have a king after all, and what better king than you?"

"King?" Jack said, "I don't know how good of a king I'd make."

"You'd be perfect," Elsa answered. "You know, I've wanted to ask you this before—to stay longer—but I felt embarrassed to even ask. Honestly I used to think I wasn't worth your friendship…"

"That's ridiculous, Elsa."

"No it's not," she answered. "You're free. You never had any limitations on yourself. You do whatever you want, go wherever you want and never care about what anyone else thinks—you know, because no one can see you, but still. I always thought 'why would he waste his time with someone as boring and rigid as me'? But now—" here she let go of Jack's hand, spreading her arms open wide. "I've changed. I don't fear anything anymore—I'm different now. So?" she looked at him. Far different was this look than the one she had given him years ago when she had asked him to run away with her; she was utterly serene. Jack knew that if he calmly declined her offer, she'd accept it without judgment.

And yet, did he want to decline? She had hit the nail on the head—before they had always been friendly strangers, pulled together by a mutual desire to fill their loneliness—at least that was how it was for him. It was the fact that Elsa could see him that kept him coming back. But now…after seeing this new side of her…it had changed. This Elsa—this smiling, radiant, beautiful queen—was someone that Jack enjoyed the company of for no other reason than she was amazing.

And if the Man in the Moon wouldn't tell Jack his purpose, and he was being offered one here and now, how could he pass it up?

"Just give me a second…" Jack said. He got on his knees. "Don't look."

Elsa hesitated, but turned away. "Are you done with…whatever you're doing?"

"Just a sec," Jack grunted. "…And done." He stood up, smiling sheepishly. In his hand was two crowns made out of ice. They were crudely made, but Elsa put a hand to her mouth in awe.

"King and Queen need crowns, right?" Jack said. "I've never tried making stuff this delicate out of ice before—I usually just lob snowballs. So they don't look that great…"

He was interrupted by Elsa throwing her arms around him, impulsively giving him a kiss on the cheek. "That is amazing," she said, taking one of the crowns from his hand and placing it in her hair. "This crown, I can wear." She took his. "Now, kneel."

Jack rolled his eyes, but complied with the request.

"I, Elsa, Queen of the North Mountain, hereby appoint you, Jack Frost, as my King." She placed the crown on his head.

Jack grinned. "It is an honor, Queen Elsa," he said, trying to sound as formal as possible. The two couldn't help but erupt into a fit of laughter.


End file.
